Това е писано от доста по-възрастна жена, но ми харесва как възприема нещата. Ще ме извиняват незнаещите английски, но нямам време да го превеждам.



Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I
have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over
my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt.? And
often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror
(who looks like my father or mother), but I don't agonize over
those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my
loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged,
I've become more kind to myself, and less
critical of myself. I've
become my own friend.


I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not
making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't
need, but looks so avant garde on my patio. I am entitled to a
treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.
I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon;
before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging.

Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer
until 4 AM and sleep until noon I will dance with myself to those
wonderful tunes of the 60 & 70's, and if I, at the same time, wish
to weep over a lost love ... I will.


I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over
a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I
choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.

They, too,
will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is
just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important
things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart
not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or
even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car. But broken
hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.
A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know
the joy of being imperfect.


I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning
gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep
grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have
died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about
what other people think.
I don't question myself anymore. I've
even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free.
I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever,
but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what
could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat
dessert every single day. (If I feel like it)